Brainy light bulbs. Refrigerators that heat dishwasher water. Elevators that use no more energy than toasters. These are just a few of the “Oh Wow’ topics last week at the annual EE Global conference.But it was growth in cities – and their buildings – that was clearly on the minds of industry leaders, 500 in total who gathered at the Washington, D.C. event, sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy.The US spends $432 billion per year on energy for buildings – more than what companies pay in taxes across America, more than what the private sector spends on research & development, and on par with the cost of health insurance for the private sector, said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer of United Technologies Corporation.Mandyck presented energy efficiency projects not as a cost, but as an investment with a favorable rate of return. Reducing energy use in buildings by 30 percent with readily available technology over 10 years would pay for the capital expense and generate a 30 percent internal rate of return, he said.“It turns out energy efficiency is an outstanding investment choice for buildings,” Mandyck said.Up with elevatorsCity populations are expanding, so more high rises are being built. More high rises mean more elevators, a big growth area for energy efficiency. Elevators waste a lot of energy. In fact, elevators in the US use five times the energy of Washington, D.C., according to early findings from a report expected out next month from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in collaboration with UTC, he said.But new technologies exist that harness energy from gravity to make elevators significantly more efficient – getting their energy use down to less than that of a toaster, Mandyck said.Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Elevator, also gave an elevator speech. He described the 21st century as the “first century of the city.” Rapid population growth means cities must double their existing floor space within 11 years. Elevators use 10 percent of energy in high rise buildings, about 36,000 GWh per year, or 1.5 times the energy used by Las Vegas, he said.When a light bulb goes off…All of these buildings need lights too. Lighting accounts for 19 percent of world electrical energy production, according to Jeff Cassis, Philips’ senior vice president and general manager of global systems. The next stage of the lighting revolution offers a light bulb that “actually has intelligence and has the ability to talk and connect with the outside world.” This light bulb will be Internet connected and meld into the spaces where we work and play. It will “sense, anticipate, and seamlessly respond to a variety of different, changing needs and adapt to behaviors,” he said.Incorporating energy efficiency is becoming a competitive play in cities, according to Andy Bennett, Schneider Electric’s senior vice president of infrastructure & energy. Cities must become as energy efficient as possible “not just because it is the right thing to do, but because every cent they save can be put back into the core infrastructure…education or parks or whatever it is they want to do to attract companies and people.”Refrigerator friends dishwasherAnd let’s not forget the smart home, which is no longer so much about efficient gadgets, as efficient systems designed to serve a growing middle class. By 2030 the world’s middle class is expected to expand from two billion people to five billion, said Dave Szczupak, Whirlpool’s executive vice president of global product organization. This will contribute to as much as a 60 percent rise in energy use. That means appliances better become more efficient. One breakthrough technology from Whirlpool takes the waste heat made by a refrigerator and uses it to warm the water in the dishwasher.The Alliance to Save Energy has set a goal to double energy productivity by 2030. This equates to making ”every bit of energy we use last twice as long,” said Alex Laskey, Opower’s president. Is it doable? The chances are good because, as Laskey pointed out, energy efficiency enjoys a favorable position in society. No one wants to waste money on energy, “no matter who you vote for, or what bumper stickers you have on the back of your car.”This blog originally appeared on EnergyEfficiencyMarkets.com. See More

Brainy light bulbs. Refrigerators that heat dishwasher water. Elevators that use no more energy than toasters. These are just a few of the “Oh Wow’ topics last week at the annual EE Global conference.But it was growth in cities – and their buildings – that was clearly on the minds of industry leaders, 500 in total who gathered at the Washington, D.C. event, sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy.The US spends $432 billion per year on energy for buildings – more than what companies pay in taxes across America, more than what the private sector spends on research & development, and on par with the cost of health insurance for the private sector, said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer of United Technologies Corporation.Mandyck presented energy efficiency projects not as a cost, but as an investment with a favorable rate of return. Reducing energy use in buildings by 30 percent with readily available technology over 10 years would pay for the capital expense and generate a 30 percent internal rate of return, he said.“It turns out energy efficiency is an outstanding investment choice for buildings,” Mandyck said.Up with elevatorsCity populations are expanding, so more high rises are being built. More high rises mean more elevators, a big growth area for energy efficiency. Elevators waste a lot of energy. In fact, elevators in the US use five times the energy of Washington, D.C., according to early findings from a report expected out next month from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in collaboration with UTC, he said.But new technologies exist that harness energy from gravity to make elevators significantly more efficient – getting their energy use down to less than that of a toaster, Mandyck said.Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Elevator, also gave an elevator speech. He described the 21st century as the “first century of the city.” Rapid population growth means cities must double their existing floor space within 11 years. Elevators use 10 percent of energy in high rise buildings, about 36,000 GWh per year, or 1.5 times the energy used by Las Vegas, he said.When a light bulb goes off…All of these buildings need lights too. Lighting accounts for 19 percent of world electrical energy production, according to Jeff Cassis, Philips’ senior vice president and general manager of global systems. The next stage of the lighting revolution offers a light bulb that “actually has intelligence and has the ability to talk and connect with the outside world.” This light bulb will be Internet connected and meld into the spaces where we work and play. It will “sense, anticipate, and seamlessly respond to a variety of different, changing needs and adapt to behaviors,” he said.Incorporating energy efficiency is becoming a competitive play in cities, according to Andy Bennett, Schneider Electric’s senior vice president of infrastructure & energy. Cities must become as energy efficient as possible “not just because it is the right thing to do, but because every cent they save can be put back into the core infrastructure…education or parks or whatever it is they want to do to attract companies and people.”Refrigerator friends dishwasherAnd let’s not forget the smart home, which is no longer so much about efficient gadgets, as efficient systems designed to serve a growing middle class. By 2030 the world’s middle class is expected to expand from two billion people to five billion, said Dave Szczupak, Whirlpool’s executive vice president of global product organization. This will contribute to as much as a 60 percent rise in energy use. That means appliances better become more efficient. One breakthrough technology from Whirlpool takes the waste heat made by a refrigerator and uses it to warm the water in the dishwasher.The Alliance to Save Energy has set a goal to double energy productivity by 2030. This equates to making ”every bit of energy we use last twice as long,” said Alex Laskey, Opower’s president. Is it doable? The chances are good because, as Laskey pointed out, energy efficiency enjoys a favorable position in society. No one wants to waste money on energy, “no matter who you vote for, or what bumper stickers you have on the back of your car.”This blog originally appeared on EnergyEfficiencyMarkets.com. See More

Netflix, you were right. I liked Downton Abbey. And thanks, Amazon I do want to read Michael Lewis’ new book. I still can’t figure out how Google knows I have a new dog.Even if at times it feels a bit eerie, such ‘consumer-of-one’ marketing is a convenience many of us have come to appreciate. And it’s an approach now embraced by most major retailers.The exception? You’ve guessed it: the ever-old fashioned electric utility.But that’s changing. And Colorado-based technology company Tendril is intent on nudging the electric industry into the new era of micro-targeted marketing. It’s a move that won’t just sell us more stuff, but could seriously improve energy efficiency and lower costs.Tendril this week launched a new energy services management (ESM) platform to help your utility figure out what you might want from it.Figuring you outTendril collects vast amounts of publicly available information about people served by a utility energy consumers: house size, income level, and a lot of other data available from services like Experian. The company also looks at individual energy usage patterns provided by the utility. It then runs the information through a simulation model to get to know you: your demographic, buying behavior and inclinations, and types of messages you respond to online and off.So, say, an energy company wants to sell solar panels in Lincoln, Nebraska. Tendril’s algorithm figures out likely purchasers. Those with pools and big houses, for example. It will configure its platform to isolate homes of over 3,000 square feet, made of brick, with a pool and central air conditioning, and with more than three inhabitants.Simulated daily net energy consumption for a 4,500 square-foot brick home in Lincoln, NE, assuming central air conditioning, a pool, and a 4.5 kW solar-electric systemSuch targeted research offers added value; it could reduce solar costs. Acquiring residential solar customers is expensive. It costs about $3,000 to $5,000 per customer, according to Tendril. Buck-shot marketing is expensive, but marketing only to those likely to buy drives down this cost.Another example: a utility wants to institute a program to get homeowners to save energy. In many cases, such programs only achieve a one to three percent savings, according to Tendril. More people might participate if Tendril uses its database and algorithm to find the most likely participants, and the utility hones its marketing message to them.The utility will know how to talk to you, for example, if you’re green-leaning and have an old house with old windows.The program allows the utility to look for a very specific type of households. Maybe one in the electricity-pricey Northeast who earns less than $30,000 per year and spends 40 percent of its energy bill on HVAC when the temperature is above 80 degrees.Ho-hum, unless you’re a utilityFor Google, or Amazon, or Netflix, this might be a big so-what. But for the utility industry its relatively new ground. Utilities have captive customers (who in the US would ever forego electricity?), so haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about micro-marketing before. It’s a new move thrust upon utilities as competition looms. Companies that offer solar, microgrids, combined heat and power, and others are threatening to lure away the utility customer.Thus, Tendril sees large opportunity ahead as utilities, retail electric suppliers and others increasingly embrace energy services management. ESM will spur $54.3 billion in consumer spending on energy products and services by 2030, according to a paper by Manifest Mind that Tendril distributed.Of course, some people are uneasy about this kind of marketing. They fear utility spying or misuse of their personal information. But as Tendril points out, the ATM and debit card caused similar concerns and now their use is commonplace.So welcome, utility, let me know what I want! I suspect it’s a Nest thermostat. Am I right?Want to read more articles like this? Visit EnergyEfficiencyMarkets.com. Thanks!See More

Netflix, you were right. I liked Downton Abbey. And thanks, Amazon I do want to read Michael Lewis’ new book. I still can’t figure out how Google knows I have a new dog.Even if at times it feels a bit eerie, such ‘consumer-of-one’ marketing is a convenience many of us have come to appreciate. And it’s an approach now embraced by most major retailers.The exception? You’ve guessed it: the ever-old fashioned electric utility.But that’s changing. And Colorado-based technology company Tendril is intent on nudging the electric industry into the new era of micro-targeted marketing. It’s a move that won’t just sell us more stuff, but could seriously improve energy efficiency and lower costs.Tendril this week launched a new energy services management (ESM) platform to help your utility figure out what you might want from it.Figuring you outTendril collects vast amounts of publicly available information about people served by a utility energy consumers: house size, income level, and a lot of other data available from services like Experian. The company also looks at individual energy usage patterns provided by the utility. It then runs the information through a simulation model to get to know you: your demographic, buying behavior and inclinations, and types of messages you respond to online and off.So, say, an energy company wants to sell solar panels in Lincoln, Nebraska. Tendril’s algorithm figures out likely purchasers. Those with pools and big houses, for example. It will configure its platform to isolate homes of over 3,000 square feet, made of brick, with a pool and central air conditioning, and with more than three inhabitants.Simulated daily net energy consumption for a 4,500 square-foot brick home in Lincoln, NE, assuming central air conditioning, a pool, and a 4.5 kW solar-electric systemSuch targeted research offers added value; it could reduce solar costs. Acquiring residential solar customers is expensive. It costs about $3,000 to $5,000 per customer, according to Tendril. Buck-shot marketing is expensive, but marketing only to those likely to buy drives down this cost.Another example: a utility wants to institute a program to get homeowners to save energy. In many cases, such programs only achieve a one to three percent savings, according to Tendril. More people might participate if Tendril uses its database and algorithm to find the most likely participants, and the utility hones its marketing message to them.The utility will know how to talk to you, for example, if you’re green-leaning and have an old house with old windows.The program allows the utility to look for a very specific type of households. Maybe one in the electricity-pricey Northeast who earns less than $30,000 per year and spends 40 percent of its energy bill on HVAC when the temperature is above 80 degrees.Ho-hum, unless you’re a utilityFor Google, or Amazon, or Netflix, this might be a big so-what. But for the utility industry its relatively new ground. Utilities have captive customers (who in the US would ever forego electricity?), so haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about micro-marketing before. It’s a new move thrust upon utilities as competition looms. Companies that offer solar, microgrids, combined heat and power, and others are threatening to lure away the utility customer.Thus, Tendril sees large opportunity ahead as utilities, retail electric suppliers and others increasingly embrace energy services management. ESM will spur $54.3 billion in consumer spending on energy products and services by 2030, according to a paper by Manifest Mind that Tendril distributed.Of course, some people are uneasy about this kind of marketing. They fear utility spying or misuse of their personal information. But as Tendril points out, the ATM and debit card caused similar concerns and now their use is commonplace.So welcome, utility, let me know what I want! I suspect it’s a Nest thermostat. Am I right?Want to read more articles like this? Visit EnergyEfficiencyMarkets.com. Thanks!See More

Microgrids may be the future of the North American electric grid, but when will that future arrive – especially for the homeowner? A team led by Ontario utility PowerStream is trying to find out with a new test project.“A lot of the microgrid projects that you read about are typically large projects, hundreds of kilowatts, megawatts, running a whole university, a whole hospital, a whole military base,” said Mario Bottero, co-founder and president of RoseWater Energy Group, which provided the project’s energy storage hub.Instead, the PowerStream project aims for “a true microgrid – micro – small, localized, specific” that can be scaled up to many homes or even buildings, he said in a recent interview.Interested in microgrids? Join out new LinkedIn Group, Microgrid Knowledge, and keep up with the latest on this emerging energy choice.Located at PowerStream’s corporate headquarters north of Toronto, the initial phase is now in operation. It serves just seven kW of average demand from lighting, air conditioning, refrigeration and other common energy uses. The goal is to simulate what a house might draw in a microgrid. Power comes from a 17-kW solar array, a 1.8-kW wind turbine and a 35-kW natural gas-fired turbine. The system operates with lithium, lead-acid and sodium nickel chloride batteries. The microgrid can connect to the grid or island when necessary.Phase two includes a level three car charging station powered by solar. Future phases may incorporate fuel cells and combined heat and power. The idea is “keep pushing the envelope and incorporate products that aren’t necessarily widely used now, and see how they work,” Bottero said.The project is one of several ways Ontario is exploring aspects of microgrid. Canadian Solar recently opened a microgrid test center in Ontario, and the provincial government has a solicitation now on the street for energy storage. The province also has installed smart meters in most homes and small businesses and has shut down coal-fired plants and fostered solar through feed-in tariffs and other long-term contracts.What's comingMass market microgrids don’t yet offer the return on investment required – but it’s coming, according to Rosewater, which offers energy storage and management systems for utilities and the high-end residential market.“We are talking to real estate developers here who are trying to incorporate solar into the mortgage, so that you can amortize it over 20 years. I think that is the logical progression, as well, for creating the microgrids,” Bottero said.The company sees the rise of microgrids as a complement, not a disruption to the utility macrogrid – an increase in energy efficiency. Microgrid offers a way to better manage the demand-side – how homeowners or buildings use power, according to William Gotts, RoseWater’s CEO. “That is why RoseWater has focused on the residential aspect; we really feel like that is the future,” he said.Utilities in many cases are resisting the idea of microgrid, especially in the US. Rosewater hopes to change the way utilities look at microgrid for the mass market, but acknowledges that transformation is at least a few years away.“If we are successful in the market, we will change the way utilities do business. We have to do it organically. It has to be a slow process. It has to be a lot of proving what we say is true. That’s baby steps,” Bottero said.So don’t expect a microgrid to be coming to your neighborhood quickly– but keep an eye on Ontario for what it might look like when it does arrive.Other companies participating in the PowerStream microgrid trial include: General Electric, Enbridge, Enviro-Energy Technologies, Navigant Consulting, renewz sustainable solutions and SMA. More details, including a video, are available on PowerStream’s website. This article originally appeared on EnergyEfficiencyMarkets.com.See More

Microgrids may be the future of the North American electric grid, but when will that future arrive – especially for the homeowner? A team led by Ontario utility PowerStream is trying to find out with a new test project.“A lot of the microgrid projects that you read about are typically large projects, hundreds of kilowatts, megawatts, running a whole university, a whole hospital, a whole military base,” said Mario Bottero, co-founder and president of RoseWater Energy Group, which provided the project’s energy storage hub.Instead, the PowerStream project aims for “a true microgrid – micro – small, localized, specific” that can be scaled up to many homes or even buildings, he said in a recent interview.Interested in microgrids? Join out new LinkedIn Group, Microgrid Knowledge, and keep up with the latest on this emerging energy choice.Located at PowerStream’s corporate headquarters north of Toronto, the initial phase is now in operation. It serves just seven kW of average demand from lighting, air conditioning, refrigeration and other common energy uses. The goal is to simulate what a house might draw in a microgrid. Power comes from a 17-kW solar array, a 1.8-kW wind turbine and a 35-kW natural gas-fired turbine. The system operates with lithium, lead-acid and sodium nickel chloride batteries. The microgrid can connect to the grid or island when necessary.Phase two includes a level three car charging station powered by solar. Future phases may incorporate fuel cells and combined heat and power. The idea is “keep pushing the envelope and incorporate products that aren’t necessarily widely used now, and see how they work,” Bottero said.The project is one of several ways Ontario is exploring aspects of microgrid. Canadian Solar recently opened a microgrid test center in Ontario, and the provincial government has a solicitation now on the street for energy storage. The province also has installed smart meters in most homes and small businesses and has shut down coal-fired plants and fostered solar through feed-in tariffs and other long-term contracts.What's comingMass market microgrids don’t yet offer the return on investment required – but it’s coming, according to Rosewater, which offers energy storage and management systems for utilities and the high-end residential market.“We are talking to real estate developers here who are trying to incorporate solar into the mortgage, so that you can amortize it over 20 years. I think that is the logical progression, as well, for creating the microgrids,” Bottero said.The company sees the rise of microgrids as a complement, not a disruption to the utility macrogrid – an increase in energy efficiency. Microgrid offers a way to better manage the demand-side – how homeowners or buildings use power, according to William Gotts, RoseWater’s CEO. “That is why RoseWater has focused on the residential aspect; we really feel like that is the future,” he said.Utilities in many cases are resisting the idea of microgrid, especially in the US. Rosewater hopes to change the way utilities look at microgrid for the mass market, but acknowledges that transformation is at least a few years away.“If we are successful in the market, we will change the way utilities do business. We have to do it organically. It has to be a slow process. It has to be a lot of proving what we say is true. That’s baby steps,” Bottero said.So don’t expect a microgrid to be coming to your neighborhood quickly– but keep an eye on Ontario for what it might look like when it does arrive.Other companies participating in the PowerStream microgrid trial include: General Electric, Enbridge, Enviro-Energy Technologies, Navigant Consulting, renewz sustainable solutions and SMA. More details, including a video, are available on PowerStream’s website. This article originally appeared on EnergyEfficiencyMarkets.com.See More